DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1 and 5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dzioba et al. (US 4,217,811) in view of Hecker et al. (US 10,647,350).
Regarding Claim 1, Dzioba discloses a steering device comprising:
A rack tooth part (70) formed on an outer side of a screw nut which is screwed onto a steering shaft (12) linked to a steering wheel (see Col. 3 Lines 14-18).
A sector gear (71, 72, 73) which is provided to a sector shaft (74) linked to a turning wheel (see Col. 3 Lines 54-59), includes a center tooth (72) that meshes most deeply with the rack tooth part at a neutral position of the sector shaft which corresponds to a straight-ahead steering state (see Fig. 1), and meshes with the rack tooth part using a plurality of sector teeth provided in a circumferential direction of the sector shaft (see Fig. 1);
A preload applying mechanism (92) which adjusts a meshing between the rack tooth part and the sector gear in a vicinity of the neutral position of the sector shaft (see Fig. 1).
Wherein the preload applying mechanism includes:
A plunger receiving hole (94) which is provided close to an area on one end side in a tooth width direction of a specific tooth bottom of the rack tooth part which faces a tooth tip of the center tooth in the vicinity of the neutral position of the sector shaft (see Fig. 2, and is opened to the specific tooth bottom (see Fig. 2).
A plunger (107) which is housed in the plunger receiving hole so as to advance and retract (see Fig. 2), and is provided such that a distal end side thereof protrudes from an opening facing the sector gear of the plunger receiving hole (see Fig. 2).
A sliding ring (106) which is provided to move integrally with the plunger by being press-fitted to an outer peripheral side of the plunger (see Fig. 2, note that “press-fitted” is a product by process limitation and is given limited patentable weight, and the plunger and sliding ring are capable of being formed in such a manner1), and slides with respect to an inner peripheral surface of the plunger receiving hole by the advance and retraction movement of the plunger (see Fig. 2).
An energizing member (104) which is interposed between a bottom of the plunger receiving hole and the sliding ring (see Fig. 2), and energizes the plunger toward the center tooth via the sliding ring (see Fig. 2), and wherein the preload applying mechanism energizes the ball nut in one rotation direction of the ball nut based on a reaction force generated by the plunger coming in elastic contact with the tooth tip of the center tooth (see Fig. 2).
Dzioba disclose a screw nut not a ball nut. However, Hecker teaches in a similar steering device, having a ball nut (106) instead of a screw nut (see Fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to replace the lead screw mechanisms in the steering device disclosed in Dzioba with a ball screw as taught in Hecker to provide for more precise and efficient means for controlling the steering device.
Regarding Claim 5, Dzioba further discloses the steering device according to 1 wherein a tooth bottom of the sector gear has a flat surface that is parallel to a rotation axis of the sector shaft (see Fig. 2).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Dzioba et al. (US 4,217,811) in view of Hecker et al. (US 10,647,350) in view of Mashahiko (JP H05319285 A)
Regarding Claim 6 Dzioba does not disclose a tapered surface for the sector gear nor an adjustment screw for the sector shaft for the steering device according to claim 1.
However, Mashahiko teaches in a similar steering device (see Figs. 1 and 2) where the wherein a tooth bottom of the sector gear has a tapered surface in which a tooth height of the sector gear gradually increases toward one end side in an axial direction of the sector shaft (see Fig. 4), and wherein the sector shaft is movable toward one end side in the axial direction of the sector shaft by an adjustment screw (9) screwed from an other end portion in the axial direction of the sector shaft through a female screw hole formed in an end wall of a housing that houses the sector shaft (see Fig. 2, showing a nut shape on the housing, which is considered to be part of the housing).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the steering device disclosed in Dzioba with a tapered sector gear and an adjustment screw as taught in Mashahiko to allow for better positioning of the sector shaft to remove backlash, and to taper the gear tooth based on anticipated forces being transferred through the sector gear.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2-4 and 7-9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GREGORY WEBER whose telephone number is (571)272-3307. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM - 5PM M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MINNAH SEOH can be reached at (571) 270-7778. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/GREGORY ROBERT WEBER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3618
1 See MPEP 2113(I)
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